Son feels bad about height

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op - he needs to lift. Weight lift. He needs to know how. He needs to go to the weight room, making that part of his routine at school. That will help him reach his maximum height. No supplements, no drugs --- not saying that

??? I thought weights make you wider but not longer????

Weight makes bones stronger. Strong bones have the capacity to provide the framework for a taller body. Weights, repetitive stretching, jumping…all will aid in height.

Short kids should play basketball, do yoga and swimming, do pull ups and lift weights.

Drink organic milk and get sunlight.

Last but not the least… good quality sleep.

I know this sounds wacky but I think it might be true. My son got a lot taller once he started doing taekwondo twice a week. Lots of pushups, all the kicking and punching against something built up his muscles, and for whatever reason he also shot up in height.

correlation vs causation.

My son who was short at 13/14 started playing soccer. He did not grow much. Late bloomer. He quit soccer at 15, and also hit puberty at 15. He started off at 5'1.5" at 14. He's now 18 at 5'10", and still growing. He doesn't play any sports anymore, but he does lift some weights, though not too much.

Height is more about genetics than anything else, but nutrition and getting some exercise, but not necessarily heavy exercise, can impact height growth.

[Anonymous]

OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that’s actually short. It’s basically average. My kid that age is 5’6.5”, and that’s over 70th percentile. He must just have tall friends.

+1

DS (21) is also barely 5’7 given his genetics ( DH is 5’4 and I am barely 5’ on a good day). He has always had very tall friends. DS never seemed to mind. He has done really well in school, socially and now in the professional world. I feel DH’s and my attitude towards our own heights is the biggest contributing factor in DS’ positive outlook on his physical attribute. We are good at our jobs, been married almost 30 years, have great friends. To DS, life is more than just how tall one is, or the color of one’s hair color and such. We are also very open with him about our East Asian genetics. DH and I both came from a world where we would be considered average height. So there was no illusion that DS would reach 6’ in height. I think we all are at ease with this one thing and we can’t change and quite frankly don’t care to change.

Agree that peer pressure during the teen years can be hard. But the unconditional love and acceptance from family as well as open dialogue about what is important in life will go a long way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

Or he won't and THAT IS OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

Huh? The average man in America is 5'9". That's a whole lot of men who are "short."
There are tons of boys who aren't going "to get there."

That is SUCH TOXIC advice.

[Anonymous]

Op - he needs to lift. Weight lift. He needs to know how. He needs to go to the weight room, making that part of his routine at school. That will help him reach his maximum height. No supplements, no drugs --- not saying that

He does - he and DH like to go to the gym together. However, although he is strong for his weight, DS is also quite skinny. I don't necessarily think it is delayed puberty. He has a slight mustache (shaves occasionally, but not motivated to do so regularly) and armpit hair. His adult height is estimated to be around 5'8" - 5'9", which he is ok with but just wants to be there now vs. in a few years. Everyone is right that we just need to support his confidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

+1

Height largely evens out toward the end of high school, with the majority of boys being in the same range (and through puberty obviously). Yes- of course there will be some taller and some shorter, but it isn’t as big of a deal. Height differences at 14 are totally crazy with variation- at 17 much less so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

Huh? The average man in America is 5'9". That's a whole lot of men who are "short."
There are tons of boys who aren't going "to get there."

That is SUCH TOXIC advice.

Did I say to assure him he'd be 6' tall? No. But barring a medical issue, OP's son will most likely grow taller and be of average height. If he ends up 5'9", that's in the mix. He'll also grow wider and more muscular. So even at 5'8", he'll be more man-like and less boyish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son was about 5'2" when he started 9th grade, also a late birthday and on top of it, late to start puberty. Not only were his male classmates all taller, but many of the girls. He was teased a lot in 7th and 8th grades.

All you really can do is assure your DS that he will get there -- by the time my DS was in 11th grade most of the boys were much closer in height (besides the outliers at 6'3"). I know that seems like forever for him to be thinking two years down the line, but not much he can do in the meantime.

Huh? The average man in America is 5'9". That's a whole lot of men who are "short."
There are tons of boys who aren't going "to get there."

That is SUCH TOXIC advice.

Did I say to assure him he'd be 6' tall? No. But barring a medical issue, OP's son will most likely grow taller and be of average height. If he ends up 5'9", that's in the mix. He'll also grow wider and more muscular. So even at 5'8", he'll be more man-like and less boyish.

In the mix of what?

What are the men who are under 5 7? Not man like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Height is strongly correlated to success in business and with women unfortunately

Again, this is a White majority perspective.

Black women are more heightist than white women

[Anonymous]

Did I say to assure him he'd be 6' tall? No. But barring a medical issue, OP's son will most likely grow taller and be of average height. If he ends up 5'9", that's in the mix. He'll also grow wider and more muscular. So even at 5'8", he'll be more man-like and less boyish.

In the mix of what?

What are the men who are under 5 7? Not man like?

I get what you are saying based on the way the PP phrased that. It wasn't great. However, I do think it is a fair point that guys who are more built look less boyish, regardless of whether they are short or tall.

[Anonymous]

Don't say anything. Some things can't be controlled, and he'll have to make peace with his body. Leave it alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 19yo ds is 5'6". He is probably done growing. It sucks, tbh. People comment on his height ALL. THE. TIME. It's practically a daily occurrence. Even shorter girls and guys who are 5'8"/5'9" make digs about him being short.

We've done all we can to build his confidence and remind him of all he has going for him, which is a lot. Tell him everyone has their gifts and their crosses to bear. It's tough.

Mine is 18 and nobody says anything to him about his height. I thought it would be more of an issue over the years but it has been a non-issue.

Wow has the world gotten meaner? I’m a 50 year old 5’5” man and have never received a comment about my height??

Social media has really made it an issue in the 🇺🇸

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS didn’t have a significant growth spurt until 9th grade. Major growth between 9th and 11th.

Same here. He's now 6'4" and seems to still be growing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - he needs to lift. Weight lift. He needs to know how. He needs to go to the weight room, making that part of his routine at school. That will help him reach his maximum height. No supplements, no drugs --- not saying that

No not at his age

He should be doing tons of pull-ups, dips, push ups; lunges, body eight squats, Bulgarian split squats

At his age, no need to get on the weight rack